18 Apr 2008

Inquest in Britain into Fiji soldier's death in Iraq

1:32 pm on 18 April 2008

A coroner's inquest is due to open in Britain into the death of a Fijian soldier killed in Iraq.

The court in the English city of Oxford will determine the facts surrounding the death of Samuela Vanua on September the 4th 2006.

The 27-year-old Gunner was one of two soldiers in the 12th Regiment Royal Artillery who died in the incident north of the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

At the time the British defence ministry said a roadside bomb had exploded under their Land Rover vehicle as they supported a Danish reconstruction team.

Inquiries into the deaths of service personnel in Iraq have been referred to Oxford coroner's court, because the bodies are flown into an airforce base nearby.